'NBA Live' back from dead

Kyrie Irving isn't just in the news, now he's breaking news on "NBA Live 13." Michael Hickey/US Presswire

Feb 23, 2012

Jon Robinson

With NBA All-Star Weekend taking place in Orlando, EA Sports invited a select number of players to visit their Florida development studio, showing off the latest of what the company is calling "the future of basketball" video games.

Rookie Kyrie Irving not only got his hands on the new game before anybody else outside of EA, he even tweeted the official name, "NBA Live 13," before the video game publisher had the chance to make an official announcement.

Tweeted Irving: "In Orlando for #AllStar checking out the #FutureOfBasketball with @EASPORTSNBA. Get to see the new #NBALIVE13!"

This marks the first time EA Sports has used the "NBA Live" name since "NBA Live 10" shipped back in 2009. In 2010, the company attempted to rebrand its basketball franchise "NBA Elite," but the title was cancelled a week before shipment due to an overwhelming number of bugs and a disastrous community response to the gameplay changes being implemented.

In 2011, the company decided against shipping a basketball simulation, adding another full year to the development cycle of "NBA Live 13" in hopes of turning the once great franchise back into a winner.

But will it be the "future of basketball" that Irving and EA Sports are making it out to be? The game will have to be something special if EA has any hopes of competing with the dominant force that is "NBA 2K."

Then again, anything that sparks the old EA versus 2K wars has to be good for business.